Woody Wonders

I know I say this every single month but wow, another month gone and, more to the point, a full 6 months of the year has gone by!!  Don't you find that time itself though is quite weird and wonderful.  Yes, the first 6 months seem to have flown by and everyone is saying "I can't believe it's July already" , but cast your mind back and January seems a lifetime ago. The mid-point of the year does make me panic somewhat though in terms of "oh my god, am I just letting the year slip by, what have I done with my life so far this year?!"  So, you know what's coming don't you?  Yep, a half-year review! Last week, I took the time to look back and reflect on what I've done so far this year and plan for what I need to do for those areas I've let slip somewhat. Overall, I have to say that I'm quite pleased with what I've achieved to date.  This year I was determined to be a bit more chilled out and say 'yes' to more things, both bi...

I don't know why it comes as such a surprise every year, it is the same date after all, yet all we hear when it gets to December is "I can't believe it's nearly Christmas". We suddenly go into panic mode in relation to presents, trying to see everyone, tying everything up neatly to finish off this year and plan for the next one. Let's be brutally honest, I doubt we will ever change and we will continue to go through this every year.  Time simply runs away from us so let's not beat ourselves up about it.  We can only do so much and we can only do our best with the time and resources we have.   First of all, the best thing you can do is get everything out of your head and into an action list.  Write down absolutely everything that is on your mind. Next job, put everything into categories such as 'Presents', 'Family', 'Food & Drink' and then into sub-categories such as 'Buy present for mum', 'Visit Uncle George', ...

  ... it's a fine line! I don't know about anyone else but I feel like I have even less time than ever before.  I can't make my mind up whether it's simply the working from home situation and not being able to walk to someone's desk to ask a simple question (now it involves several emails or Teams messages), whether there's too much to do and not enough time, or whether I'm being disorganised at times.  To be honest, I think it's a mixture of all three. So what can we do to make us more effective and feel more organised: Don't be a slob - sounds simple but for goodness sake, tidy up your workspace!   You're not going to work effectively if your workspace is a mess and there's things buried under piles of paper, you can never find a pen and you've got notes scribbled on any old scrap of paper.  Don't underestimate the power of a clean desk, your mind will thank you for it. Keep your stationery to a bare minimum - I'm not going to l...

Commute time ...  more important than you thought The first thing that popped into my head when I was told I was going to be working from home for the foreseeable future was “hurrah, no more commuting for a while” .    However, your commute is actually a very important part of your working day - it’s the transition period from home to work and work to home.   In the morning, i t’s an opportunity to look ahead and plan the day and in the evening it's a time to reflect and unwind from the day.    It’s for these very reasons that I didn’t want to lose that ‘commute’ time when I started working from home as I realised it played a vital role in my day.  I usually left home around 7.15 am and returned home about 6.30 pm.  So I had a huge chunk of time both morning and evening in which to do something productive.  I didn't want to fall into the trap of staying in bed then immediately starting work in the morning and then finishing work and getting s...

Adapting to new ways of working  and staying healthy As we continue to change and adapt our lives at this difficult time, many of you may already be working from home or will be doing so at some point in the coming weeks.  As someone who may have said to their colleagues in the past, "working from home? yeah right", you're in for a big shock if you thought it meant sitting in your PJ's all day whilst having Netflix on.  You have to contend with distractions, communication issues and it can be very isolating.   Below are a few tips and things to think about to help you transition into home working whilst staying productive and healthy. Have a morning routine.   Routines help to provide the stability we need during difficult times.  First of all, many of you will no longer have a long commute to work so make the most of this time.  Don't stay in bed, get up and do some exercise, even better if you can get outside for some fresh air a...

Well, I wasn't expecting that! This weekend, me and the lovely Mr Bob have been in Edinburgh and although we had a fantastic time whilst there, we had a few unexpected challenges in terms of the journey.  Unlike most long journeys, we were actually really excited as we had first class tickets all the way so this was going to be a special treat. We drove down to Meadowhall to catch the train, which is just 20 minutes from home. However, when we arrived at the station there were no parking spaces.  No great shakes, Plan B, we’ll go in the Park & Ride.   Erm, n o spaces in there either and our train leaves in 5 minutes.  Okay then, Plan C, we’ll drive into Sheffield and jump on the next train.  Ten minutes later we were parking at Sheffield station. Yay, back on track.  We had about 40 minutes to wait for the train to Manchester Piccadilly so we headed for the first class lounge.  Great, we were warm, we had coffee and we had bis...

Optimistic October As we are in the throes of 'Optimistic October', I thought I'd share some thoughts on how we can learn to be more optimistic, because I do truly believe it's something we can learn.   We usually get pigeon-holed into being either optimistic or pessimistic.  How many times have you heard "oh you always look on the bright side, you're such an optimistic", or likewise, "god you always think the worst, you're such a pessimist".  As with most things in life, I believe our feelings can swing between the two.  Especially when things aren't quite going to plan, I often immediately think the worst before reality takes a hold and I can then start thinking logically on how to remedy the situation. According to studies, around 25% of our optimism/pessimism is inherited so that's a massive 75% we can work on.  Let's make a start by doing the following: 1.  Put your optimistic goggles on Don't let o...

Easy Tiger It's the first proper holiday after Christmas so here's a few tips to ensure you don't hurtle headlong into chocolate oblivion and family stresses! Give yourself a mental health overhaul You shouldn't wait until life gets tough before you take time out to engage in preventative measures to keep stress and anxiety at bay, but all too often we simply get caught up in life itself until it's too late.  Don't wait any longer!  With the long weekend upon us, now is the perfect time to step back and take some time to understand your emotions and mental health.  Write down some really simple changes that you can incorporate into your life to help keep on top of things.  Even just 10 minutes relaxation / meditation has been proven to be beneficial in reducing stress levels. Add in some good stuff! Worried about overdoing it at the big family get together?  At the very least, start the day with a really healthy breakfast.  Why not try ...